


First Christmas

by handwritten (onefromanotherworld)



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 18:52:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1097437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onefromanotherworld/pseuds/handwritten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas. Cecil tells the Listeners all about his first Christmas Eve with Carlos and gives a reminder to be ready for Void Week.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brainybrainydavy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brainybrainydavy/gifts).



> None of the characters are mine. You know it. You wouldn't have heard of them if they were. Intern Marion is my creation, I think. She doesn't do much, anyway. Merry Christmas!!

**FIRST CHRISTMAS**

 

_Silent night, holy night, but wait, it’s not so silent anymore. If you listen carefully you can hear the screams of the heathens being attacked by Santa’s claws. You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout. Santa Claus is coming to town._

* * *

 

Merry Christmas, dear Listeners! I hope you all had a lovely time last night with your families and friends. I certainly did and, since there is no important news to be reported today because most of the citizens of Night Vale had started to do nothing in case they don’t finish on time for New Year, I am free to tell you all about it. But first, am I glad that we have finally reached this day! I mean, I love this holiday, I do, but I don’t need the stores rushing the seasons and starting to sell Christmas-related merchandise, singing carols, counting the days to go and asking if you are ready for Void Week the minute Halloween is over. Anyhow, it’s finally Christmas and I’m happy.

Yesterday I spent my first Christmas Eve with Carlos. Perfectly imperfect Carlos, with his perfect hair and his perfect laid-back lab coat gave me a new tunic, one that matches my eyes, he said. It was such a lovely gift even if it didn’t comply with the Book of Gifts Approved by the City Council. I got him a nice CD for him to work at his lab and an approved card. Did you notice this year they were made by StrexCorp? Such a lovely design, too. I don’t think Carlos has read the book of approved gifts, or seen it. I wish I could give it to him for future reference but he is not 18 anymore. Maybe I should just leave my copy around next time so he can see it.

So, as I was saying… Oh, this is just in: apparently there was an incident this morning when a family gave their son of 7 a Furby, you know, those cute mechanical toys? I wish they had been around when I was a kid. Not that I didn’t love my Barbie doll in her tank, or my Malibu GI Joe, or my pirate Teddy bear with an authentic sword, but these Furbys are great. You can learn a lot about life from listening to their conversations. It’s a shame they have to be contained in a magical circle for them to function; also you cannot forget to feed them half a pound of meat every day. It is a huge responsibility to have one. Which is why the City Council dictated they shouldn’t be given to children under 11 years old, what happened today was simply bad parenting, Listeners! I’m so glad that it is not legal to give real pets as a present. I shudder to think about what would happen then. Anyway, we hope the kid and his family have learnt something this Christmas.

Back to last night. Everything was so lovely, Listeners. After I left the radio station I went straight home to decorate and prepare dinner as a surprise for Carlos, but I was the one surprised! You see, when I arrived, he was already there! The fire was lit, the lights were twinkling, a delightful aroma was coming from the kitchen; the tree was not decorated, though.

‘Surprise!’ Carlos said.

‘Oh wow!’ I said. ‘When and how?’ I asked next.

And then he explained me how he wanted everything to be special, it was his first Christmas in Night Vale and the first one together, after all. He also told me he had left the tree untrimmed so we could do it together. Isn’t he thoughtful, Listeners? What’s more, I didn’t know Carlos could be such a good cook. The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home agrees with me. Of course she joined us!  It would have been terribly rude not to invite her. She turned in early, however, leaving us alone the rest of the evening. We decorated the tree, stringed pop-corn, ate half of it, went outside, made a bonfire and watched the stars. He looked so perfect silhouetted against the fire, blowing delicately on the marshmallows for exactly five seconds to cool them before eating them; he says it’s the perfect time, according to his scientific calculations, to let a marshmallow cool-down. He is so smart! I suspect he thought I looked rather mesmerizing too since he kept looking at me every now and then.

‘You know’, Carlos said. ‘I think the only thing I will miss spending Christmas here will be building a snowman’.

‘That’s weird’, I said. I don’t know why he would like to build a snowman, Listeners, they are so rude: mocking people, biting them, spitting snow at windows… it’s a good thing we only get snow once a year. So I asked him why he would miss something like that and he said… oh, wait, I just received a message.

The City Council wishes me to remind all of you that there are just a few hours left to buy everything you will need for Void Week. Don’t put it off for later, go now and get food, batteries, rope, water, matches, thermal clothes, protection talismans, a puzzle, movies, anything you can think of to keep yourselves entertained and survive next week. As you know, from the moment dark falls tonight you won’t be able to leave your homes until New Year as we become buried under the annual sand storm created by the wings of the Pelicannibal looking for preys. It’s a good thing it chooses only one week a year to leave the Harbor. If it ate fish instead of every other living thing it would be the perfect giant pelican, don’t you think? We hope that this year, as it has done in the past, he will stop flapping around by the end of the year to allow the sand to settle down and us to emerge from it as beautiful phoenixes in order to receive the starting year. Or maybe this year it will decide to fly longer, leaving us agonizing at home out of hunger and boredom and a thirst for daylight, let’s be positive and hope for the former option! Either way, for now, I’ll leave you to the weather…

**[[‘Lean’ by The National plays](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4GC3HB3ByU)]**

_(Blank noise and then quick steps, sound of Cecil sitting down)_

I am so sorry, Listeners, I went quickly to see how Khoshek is doing now that almost everyone has gone on holidays. He has enough food and a blanket but I still worry about him, as he won’t be getting as many visits as usual this week. At least intern Marion will be staying to keep an eye on him. I would worry so if he were to stay all alone at the station. Intern Marion also seems to be ready for Void Week. It also seems that I got a message from Dana, I forgot to take my cell phone with me.

_(Cecil plays the message)_ ‘Merry Christmas, Cecil! I hope you have a great time and a good Void Week. Could you wish my parents happy holidays for me too? I hope we see each other again next year! _(End of message)_.

Oh, it’s such a pity I didn’t get to talk to her. To Dana’s family, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Let’s hope she comes back next year.

I am so happy for this year’s Void Week, Listeners. Normally I would use those days of confinement to take down the decorations, meditate, call Old Woman Josie and just talk to The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home… oh! Did I mention that Carlos got her a present too? This morning he gave her a box was full of campaign buttons. That came as a surprise to both of us. I wonder if I should get some made for Hiram McDaniels… anyway, that is what I normally would do but this year Carlos will be there too. We can watch movies, play board-games, discuss just how small the really universe actually is. Ah! We can cook together! I will make him my signature chocolate cake for the last day, but let’s keep it a surprise, eh?

‘Too late, Cecil, I just heard’

Oh, Carlos! Now I’ll have to think of something else. It’s time already? Ok, give me just a second. Well, dear Listeners, it seems that this year the dark is coming a little earlier so I’ll have to leave you now. Enjoy the holidays in company of your loved ones; remember that not everyone is as fortunate as you, like Dana or some of the interns. It is only a few days and then the ones who survive will go out and breath fresh air once again, it’s like a re-birth. So use wisely this Void Week to think about what you did this year, what you wish to do next one, how you will express your feelings toward your friends and your enemies, really think about it, Listeners, remember that all relationships are important. Hoping to see you in a week, to discover the same world or a new one, I say to you good night, Night Vale. _Good night._

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was my secret Santa gift for my friend Davy. I hope you all enjoyed it :) Btw, there's a link to the weather song on the title of the song.


End file.
